Offset stacked vertical planting containers

ABSTRACT

Stacked growing containers. The growing containers are stacked so that they are offset to each other in order to expose their corners to optimum light. Each growing container has a locking mechanism to ensure that the growing containers are locked into their correct offset position. Also each growing container has a drainage hole. A drainage container is positioned below the stack of growing containers and receives the excess water from the stack. Piping may be used to remove and redirect the excess water from the drainage container if required. In a preferred embodiment the growing containers are offset by 45 degrees.

The present invention relates to planting systems, and in particular, tovertical planting systems. The present invention is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/146,546, filed Jan. 2, 2014 (whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,549,508 on Jan. 24, 2017), all of which isincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hydroponics is known. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants usingmineral nutrient solutions in water. Terrestrial plants may be grownwith their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in a growingmedium, such as perlite, gravel, biochar, mineral wool, expanded claypebbles or coconut husk.

Researchers discovered in the 18th century that plants absorb essentialmineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions,soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is notessential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soildissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When therequired mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supplyartificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almostany terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics. Hydroponics is also astandard technique in biology research and teaching.

Vertical planting systems are known. Vertical planting systems aredesirable anywhere intense hydroponic agricultural cultivation isundertaken such as in greenhouses or in areas in which space is anissue, such as on a rooftop, indoors, or on a small piece of land, suchas a typical backyard.

Existing vertical planting systems include a solid single column thathas holes or cups installed at intervals along the column and at variouspositions around the columns circumference. Another prior art system hasstackable units that also utilize holes spaced at various vertical andhorizontal intervals. The prior art systems do not disclose a systemthat allows for easy maturation of cuttings in a final media prior toplacement in the column. Also, the prior art systems do not disclosestacking system of planting containers that allows for secure stackingand optimum growing conditions.

What is needed is a better vertical planting system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides stacked growing containers. The growingcontainers are stacked so that they are offset to each other in order toexpose their corners to optimum light. Each growing container has alocking mechanism to ensure that the growing containers are locked intotheir correct offset position. Also each growing container has adrainage hole. A drainage container is positioned below the stack ofgrowing containers and receives the excess water from the stack. Pipingremoves the excess water from the drainage container. In a preferredembodiment the growing containers are offset by 45 degrees.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a preferred growing column.

FIG. 2 shows a preferred growing container.

FIG. 3 shows a preferred growing container filled with growing mediumand rooted cuttings.

FIG. 4 shows a plurality of growing containers laid side to side.

FIGS. 5-6 show a preferred drainage container.

FIG. 7 shows details of preferred locking slots.

FIGS. 8-10 show a preferred method of water delivery to a growingcolumn.

FIG. 11 shows multiple growing columns.

FIGS. 12-14 show another preferred drainage container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a preferred hydroponic growing column 1. As shown in FIG.1, growing containers 2 are vertically stacked. Each container 2 isrotated 45 degrees with respect to the adjacent container. Column 1 alsoincludes drainage container 3. By stacking the containers at 45 degrees,optimum growing conditions are achieved. For example, plants arepositioned near the exposed corners 4 as they are planted in growingmedium contained within each container 2. Therefore plants are exposedto the appropriate amount of light for optimum growing. In one preferredembodiment a small home grower just utilizes one column 1 to growplants. In another preferred embodiment, multiple columns 1 are set upnear each other and are utilized to grow multitudes of plants. Forexample, FIG. 11 shows multiple growing columns 1 set up adjacent toeach other. HDPE tubing 83 is utilized to deliver water and nutrients tocolumns 1.

Preferred Method for Utilizing the Present Invention

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of container 2. FIG. 3 shows a top viewof container 2. A significant advantage of the present invention is thatgrowing column 1 is created out of a stack of containers 2. This allowsfor the grower the begin the growing cycle by allowing plants to rootwhile containers 2 are placed side by side (FIG. 4). Then after theplants have successfully rooted containers 2 can be stacked as shown inFIG. 1 to maximize growing potential and efficiently use availablespace.

To begin growing the user obtains multiple containers 2. In FIG. 3 theuser has filled container 2 with growing medium 5. The user has thenplanted rooted cuttings of plants 4 into each corner of container 2. Theuser will then provide optimum lighting, fertilizer and water to allowfor rooting to complete.

In FIG. 4, the user has placed multiple plants 4 side by side to allowoptimum conditions so that plants for are able to complete rooting.After a period of time plants 4 will have successfully rooted andcontainers 2 will be ready to stack. Alternatively, seedlings in smallpeat pots may be embedded in soil or other growing medium and beimmediately ready to stack. The user then stacks containers 2 so thatthey are in the positions shown in FIG. 1.

Water Flow

As stated above containers 2 are stacked as shown in FIG. 1. To water orfeed the plants in growing column 1, water or nutrient solution ispreferably pumped through High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) tubing 83(FIG. 10) into the topmost container 2. HDPE tubing 83 is used todeliver water and nutrients and is clipped or otherwise secured to thetop of each column not only to deliver water but also to provideadditional column stability. For example, FIG. 9 shows clips 84 clippedto the upper section of topmost container 2. Likewise, FIG. 8 shows rope85 utilized to tie topmost container 2 to tubing 83 for stability.

As shown in FIG. 10, HDPE tubing is preferably a ½″ pipe and is runalong the top of all growing columns 1. Preferably ¼″ HDPE tubing 85extends downward from tubing 83 at each column to deliver thewater/nutrients. These are standard drip system elements. Emitters mayalso be used on the ends of the ¼″ delivery tubes if preferred.

As nutrient water is added, it saturates the growing medium in thetopmost container 2 and then flows out through holes 6 (FIG. 2) locatedin the bottom of each container 2. In a similar fashion, water continuesto flow down growing column 1, saturating the growing medium in eachcontainer and then flowing out holes 6. This continues until water flowsinto drainage container 3.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view and FIG. 6 shows a top view of drainagecontainer 3. Drainage container 3 includes hole 7. Water flows out ofholes 6 in the bottom of bottommost container 2 and into container 3.Water then flows out through hole 7 and through standard PVC piping 8where it is directed to a drainage system, a recycle system or otherlocation desired by the user.

Stacking Mechanism

As shown clearly in FIG. 1, containers 2 are neatly stacked at a 45degree offset to each other. This allows for optimum growing conditionsin corners 4. A stacking mechanism is utilized to ensure that thecontainers are appropriately stacked. For example, FIG. 2 shows tab 10and spring loaded tab 9. Tab 10 slides into slot 12 and spring loadedtab 9 locks into slot 11. FIG. 7 shows a detailed perspective view ofspring loaded tab 9 and tab 10.

To lock containers 2 into the position as shown in FIG. 1 the bottommostcontainer 2 is first placed on top of container 3 so that locking tabs 9and 10 engage slots 11 and 12. Then this procedure is repeated until thedesired number of containers 2 has been stacked.

Other Features of the Growing Column

Growing column 1 allows for hydroponic plant culture from rooted cuttingto maturity. Column 1 can be used in indoor and outdoor hydroponicgrowing systems, with or without artificial lighting. It should be notedthat the size and proportion of containers 2 can be varied by plantspecies to be grown. The height of stacked units in an individualgrowing column will also vary by size and height of containers 2 used.Containers 2 may be filled with a variety of types of growing medium.For example, it may be filled with dirt, soil, vermiculite or any otherhydroponic growing medium. Direct sunlight or greenhouse applicationsmay allow multiple plants to be positioned out of multiple corners.Conversely, artificial lighting arrangements will determine plantplacement along columns and columns positioned for maximum lightexposure. It should also be noted that when not in use, or for shipping,containers 2 may be stacked one inside the other for efficiency.

Alternate Drainage Container

FIGS. 12-14 show a preferred alternate drainage container 3 b. Container3 b includes bottom flared portion 81. Adding flared portion 81increases the stability of growing column 1 by providing it with a widerbase. Drainage piping 8 is molded into flared portion 81 and allows forthe proper drainage of drainage container 3 b. Container 3 b alsopreferably includes flange 82. Flange 82 may be secured to the floorutilizing appropriate fasteners 83 to even further increase stability ofgrowing column 1.

Although the above-preferred embodiments have been described withspecificity, persons skilled in this art will recognize that manychanges to the specific embodiments disclosed above could be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, inaddition to HDPE piping, other types of piping may be utilized such asPVC piping. Therefore, the attached claims and their legal equivalentsshould determine the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A growing column, comprising: A. a plurality ofgrowing containers stacked at an offset position to each other to exposethe corners of said plurality of growing containers to light, each saidgrowing container comprising:
 1. at least one locking mechanism to locksaid plurality of growing containers at said offset position,
 2. atleast one hole drainage hole to allow water flow out of said growingcontainer, B. a drainage container positioned below said stack ofplurality of growing containers, said drainage container for receivingexcess water from said stack of plurality of growing containers, C.piping connected to said drainage container, said piping for removingexcess water from said drainage container.
 2. The growing column as inclaim 1, wherein said locking mechanism comprises: A. at least onelocking tab, and B. at least one locking slot to engage said at leastone locking tab.
 3. The growing column as in claim 1, wherein saidoffset position is a forty-five degree offset position and each saidgrowing container is offset forty-five degrees with respect to itsadjacent said growing container.
 4. The growing column as in claim 1,wherein said at least one locking tab is eight locking tabs and whereinsaid at least one locking slot is eight locking slots.
 5. The growingcolumn as in claim 1, wherein said at least one locking tab is at leastone spring loaded locking tab.
 6. The growing column as in claim 1,wherein said drainage container comprises, A. a flared bottom portion,B. a stability flange connected to said flared bottom portion, and C. aplurality of fasteners for fastening said stability flange.
 7. A methodfor growing plants in a growing column, said method comprising the stepsof: A. planting rooted cuttings into a plurality of growing containers,each said growing container comprising:
 1. at least one lockingmechanism to lock said plurality of growing containers at said offsetposition,
 2. at least one hole drainage hole to allow water flow out ofsaid growing container, B. allowing time for said rooted cuttings tocomplete rooting, C. stacking said plurality of growing containers in astack on top of a drainage container, wherein said plurality of growingcontainers are stacked at a offset position to each other to expose thecorners of said plurality of growing containers to light.
 8. The methodas in claim 7, wherein said locking mechanism comprises: A. at least onelocking tab, and B. at least one locking slot to engage said at leastone locking tab.
 9. The method as in claim 7, wherein said offsetposition is a forty-five degree offset position and each said growingcontainer is offset forty-five degrees with respect to its adjacent saidgrowing container.
 10. The method as in claim 7, wherein said at leastone locking tab is eight locking tabs and wherein said at least onelocking slot is eight locking slots.
 11. The method as in claim 7,wherein said at least one locking tab is at least one spring loadedlocking tab.
 12. The method as in claim 7, wherein said drainagecontainer comprises, A. a flared bottom portion, B. a stability flangeconnected to said flared bottom portion, and C. a plurality of fastenersfor fastening said stability flange.